Meet 1Spatial’s Chartered Geographers (CGeog)
Background on the award and the different post-nominals
A Chartered Geographer (CGeog) status is awarded by Royal Geographical Society to professionals working in a field of geography. There are several streams in which an individual can apply to be chartered, including CGeog, CGeog (GI/GIS), CGeog (Geomorph), CGeog (Econ) andCGeog (Teacher). To maintain CGeog status each year an individual must submit evidence of 35+hours Continued Professional Development (CPD).
Having Chartered Professionals benefits 1Spatial
Chartership doesn’t just represent a personal achievement, it also has many benefits for an employer. When gaining chartership is actively encouraged and supported, this can reflect in the talent that an organisation can retain and attract into the company.
At 1Spatial training is offered to all members of staff to enable development and career progression. 1Spatial supports their employees to develop their careers by providing a personal annual budget for external training and memberships to professional bodies such as RGS.
Some of the benefits of chartership include:
- Having staff members who are keeping up to date with GIS developments
- Motivated staff to keep developing / learning
- Continuing professional development by attending events drives innovation
- Highly skilled workforce
- Chartership aligns with professional and personal development
- Networking events with other CGeogs
How it benefits our customers and partners
By knowing 1Spatial have Chartered Geographers, our customers and partners can put their trust in 1Spatial to provide solutions and make recommendations based on wider industry trends and knowledge. Chartership is awarded based on an individual commitment, but is assessed based on set criteria and recommendation from other Chartered Geographers. This process means that clients who have chartered professionals working on the project can be confident they are recognised for being highly skilled, motivated, and passionate about the Geospatial industry.
Meet our Chartered Geographers!
Phil Francis - Head of Technical Delivery
In my early career I worked in the offshore survey industry and was always slightly envious of the Chartered Engineer status that many of the survey crew would pursue (especially those from Canadian schools and universities); and recognised there was no equivalent recognition of ‘professionality’ with the geographic and GIS industry.
So in around 2010, when the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) and the Association of Geographic Information (AGI) launched the CGeog(GIS) award, I jumped at the opportunity. I think originally my main driver for the award was to demonstrate my knowledge, expertise, and professionalism within the domain and to have that validated by two highly respected organisations. However, since the award it has empowered me to develop a mindset of Continual Professional Development and to continue to champion the use of geography and GIS as a means and discipline for advancing our understanding of the world we live in; and help solve the complex challenges we face.
As an employer, 1Spatial are supportive of the scheme and encourage our consultants with a geo and GIS background to work towards the award. Truthfully, when we are speaking to existing and new customers it is also one of the great ways that help convince them that our people are great to work with!
Shortly after gaining the award, I then became one of the assessors for the scheme (a role I have recently retired from) and over the last 12 years I have been really impressed by the range, breadth and commitment shown by so many of the 50 or so successful applicants I have reviewed. I have also taken immense satisfaction at how the award has grown, in terms of recognition and value within the industry and the ongoing support for the award through the realisation of the mentoring scheme for young professionals.
John Hartshorn - Senior Product Manager
Despite working in GIS (or, as I like to think of it, “applied geography”) for 31 years, it’s taken me some time to get around to becoming a Chartered Geographer – I was awarded the status in June 2022, although I have been a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society for perhaps 20 years or more. For me, it’s about having credibility with certain audiences. Having CGeog is that affirmation from a professional industry authority that you’ve been assessed and subsequently been deemed competent by your practitioner peers based on your training, knowledge, experience, and demonstrable active engagement in continuing to self-develop and learn.
Rose-Ellen Minchew - Pre Sales Consultant
When I graduated university and started working in the GIS industry, I had colleagues who were chartered in GIS or were working towards it. I was lucky to be around such talented individuals who inspired me to also start collecting evidence for chartership and attending different events and networking opportunities. There has been a notable increase in demand for CGeog professionals to work on large projects, so being chartered gives those clients assurance that people working on these projects are competent.
I have held Chartered Geographer status since September 2020, prior to this I had been a Fellow at Royal Geographical Society for three years. I wanted to gain chartership to demonstrate my competency in the Geospatial Industry, and being among 800 fellow CGeogs is something that makes me feel proud of my achievements.
Being part of the FRGS/CGeog community actively encourages me to keep up to date with my CPD, by attending events both online and in person to keep learning about advances in GIS and how this can improve my understanding of processes and technologies. I can then share my understanding with colleagues which in turn add value to my contributions.
Aside from Chartered Geographers, 1Spatial also has FME Certified professionals. Like chartership, certified professional status gives an individual status within the geospatial industry.
Find out about the career opportunities 1Spatial can offer including our current job openings.